With the NCAA
Men's Ice Hockey Committee gathering this week to hear presentations
from potential hosts of the 2009, 2010 and 2011 Frozen Fours,
the INCH staff was debating our personal choices. We thought we'd
share our picks, in order, along with some of the reasoning that
went into each one.

Mike
Eidelbes

Joe
Gladziszewski

James
Jahnke

1.
BostonIt can be pricey, the traffic sucks
and the Fleet Center is a so-so building. But it's a great
hockey town, there's no shortage of non-hockey activities
and the restaurants and nightlife are first rate.

1.
Tampa Having seen two Lightning games at
the St. Pete Times Forum, I'm convinced that this is a true
hockey market. The community will welcome and support the
event.

1.
Tampa If you like cheerleaders on the ice,
wait 'til you see 'em on the beach.

2.
St. PaulBesides being the site of the best
arena in the world not built with casino and tract housing
profits, it's a city with a small-town feel that rolls out
the welcome mat for visitors.

2.
St. PaulLoved the atmosphere in the building
in 2002. It might not be the same if the Gophers aren't playing,
but even in that case, it'll still be a great environment.

2.
Washington Whom do you have to lobby to get the
reflecting pool by the Lincoln Memorial frozen for a little
shinny?

3.
Philadelphia Again, personal experiences at the
venue have been positive and the city just hosted the best-attended
NCAA lacrosse final in history.

3.
Detroit Larry Brown can return to his old
stomping grounds as coach of his new team, the Providence
Skating Friars.

4.
PhiladelphiaIt's known as the City of Brotherly
Love, but in this case it'd be better dubbed the City That
Elicits No Strong Feelings One Way or the Other.

4.
Detroit Sure, having the event at a football
stadium sounds a little silly, but I also had that concern
when I heard about the hugely successful Cold War game.

4.
St. PaulI'd rank it higher, but I hear locals
are still recovering from INCH's last visit.

5.
WashingtonIt's not a hockey town –
the Caps ranked 25th in attendance in 2003-04. It's a Redskins
town and, based on that team's recent play, one could argue
that it's not a sports town.

5.
Boston I'll admit my bias in ranking the
Hub so low. Because I attend games in Boston every year, another
trip there isn't very exciting.

5.
Boston I'd rank it higher, but I hear locals
are still recovering from INCH's last visit.

6.
DetroitIt's easy to pile on a city when it's
down, and Detroit will host baseball's All-Star Game, the
Super Bowl and the Final Four over the next four years. See,
bad things do happen in threes.

6.
WashingtonSome will argue that D.C. has the
best "non-hockey" activities for fans. But aren't
we picking a hockey tournament site? You can visit the Smithsonian
any time of the year. It doesn't have to happen on the second
weekend in April.

6.
Philadelphia If Philly residents boo Santa Claus,
what will they do to Jerry York?

Jess
Myers

1.
Boston Everything about the Hub oozes hockey,
starting with the glimpse of Mike Eruzione’s boyhood
home you can get (if you know where to look) as your plane
is on final approach into Logan.

2.
St. PaulThe Xcel has a hockey sweater on display
from every high school and college team in Minnesota, making
the annual Frozen Four hunt for unique sweaters in the crowd
just a bit anti-climactic.

3.
Washington Something about crowning the national
champion in the nation’s capital seems right. Plus,
if Denver qualified, we’d finally have a brilliant leader
named George in town, for a few days anyway.

4.
TampaIn the community that gave us indoor
baseball in the Sunshine State, Manon Rheaume in the NHL and
a putrid NFL team in three shades of orange, what could go
wrong?

5.
Detroit Let me get this straight: They want
to play the Frozen Four at a football stadium, and yet they
insist on being called “Hockeytown.” I think we’re
going to need further explanation here.

6.
Philadelphia Unless they’re going to play
the games at the Palestra, we’re taking the Terrell
Owens approach: “You’d have to pay me a LOT of
money …”